Contents

Yeast Starter

With most liquid yeasts, the use of a starter is necessary in order to create a viable amount of pitchable yeast. Even yeasts marketed as directly pitchable can benefit from the creation of a starter. A starter reduces "lag-time", before fermentation commences, and can help prevent a stuck fermentation. A typical starter involves fermenting a vial or package of liquid yeast in an small amount of wort a few days before brewing.
Dry yeasts do not require a starter. Making a starter with dry yeast can be detrimental to their performance because they can use their nutrient reserves before pitching.

Yeast Starter Procedure

Making a starter is relatively straightforward, far easier than brewing an entire batch of beer.

Prepare Yeast

Allow yeast to come to room temperature. If it is a smack pack, smack it first.

Boil

Bring one pint of water to a boil in a two quart saucepan on the stove top.

Reduce the heat, add one half cup of Dry Malt Extract (DME) to the water, and mix it thoroughly.

Gently boil the wort for ten minutes.

Cool

Remove the saucepan from the stove top, and cool it to room temperature, ~75ºF (~24ºC).

Put the cool wort into an approximately half gallon (~2L) container.

Cover and aerate thoroughly.

Pitch Yeast

Pour the contents of the yeast vial or smack pack into the container.

Shake to mix the yeast into the wort.

Cover the container with a piece of foil or a loose-fitting cap.

Wait

There will be very little sign of activity, but the starter should be ready in one to three days.

You may step up the starter by adding additional wort over a period of days.

Pitch Yeast Starter

After you have brewed your full batch, you may either:

Shake the entire mixture again and pitch it into the wort

OR

Chill the mixture a day before pitching

Decant off the top layer of liquid before pitching just the yeast into the wort